Competing student loan plans blocked in Senate

Two proposals to extend low-interest federal student loans were blocked in the U.S. Senate Thursday, Reuters reported.

Republicans stopped a Democratic bid to fund a one-year renewal of the 3.4 percent interest rate by eliminating a tax loophole for the wealthy. Democrats fired back by blocking a Republican plan to cover the $6 billion cost by taking money from President Barack Obama's overhaul of the U.S. health care system.